The two older boys, Laman and Lemuel were often disobedient to their father, and many times they brought trouble to the little company.  They also treated their younger brother, Nephi, badly because he would not agree with them but tried to do as his father told him.

When Lehi died, Nephi was chosen their leader, but soon Laman and Lemuel became dissatisfied and again began making trouble.  The Lord then told Nephi to take all who would listen to him and leave the other brothers and those who upheld them in their evil deeds.

In this way there became two peoples in the land.  Those who went with Nephi were called Nephites, and those who remained with Laman became Lamanites.  The Nephites built houses, planted fields, and lived as civilized people, and the Lord often revealed his will to them through prophets and holy men.  The Lamanites became lazy, lived in tents in the forests, and killed wild animals for their food.  Their skins also became dark.

The greater part of the Book of Mormon is about these two peoples, their wars with each other, etc.  The Nephites ought to have remained a good people, because the Lord blessed them so much:  yet they often did wrong.  The Lord would prosper them until they became rich; then they would become proud and at last wicked.  Then the Lord would allow the Lamanites to come upon them, and there would be bloody wars.  So the story goes for hundreds of years.

Both nations became very large and occupied the greater part of North and South America.

At times the Lord would raise up prophets who would preach to the wicked.  Usually these teachers were Nephites, but sometimes they were Lamanites.  Sometimes great numbers of Lamanites were converted to the Lord, and when they once accepted the truth, they did not fall away so easily as their Nephite brethren.  At one time two thousand young men whose parents were converted Lamanites did valiant service for their country and their religion.  There isn’t room to tell you about the story here; but you may read about it in the Book of Mormon, beginning with the 53rd chapter of Alma.

When Nephi separated from his brethren, he went north and settled in a place they called the Land of Nephi; but after a time the Lamanites again annoyed them so much that the Lord told Mosiah, who was their leader then to take the more faithful part of the people and again go northward.  This they did, and found a city called Zarahemla which had been built by a people who had also come from Jerusalem at the time that city was destroyed.  The Nephites joined with the people of Zarahemla, and for a long time this city was the capital of the Nephite people.

In time the Lamanites occupied all of South America except a small part in the north, on which the Nephites lived.  The Nephites’ land also extended far up into North America.